Toy ball with rotatably mounted figure therein



Aug. 19 50 B. HULBl ERT 25,519,248

TOY BALL WITH ROTATABLY MOUNTED FIGURE THEREIN Filed Nov. 22, 1946 Patented Aug. 15, 1950 101.. BALL. WITH ROTATABLXLMOIINTED.

I FIGURETHEREIN Bernice llulbert, Chicago-,1;

.AnplicationNoycmher 22, 19.46,.SeriaLNo. 711 722.

This invention relates'to. atoyballfor a childs amusement which has the figure of a. man or other object-suspended init in such aywaythat the figure will revolve when, the ball is rolled and will cometo rest in an upright position when the 'ballqceases to roll- An object of "the invention is to provide for the amusement ofsmall children a toy 'balbmade Qfia transparent substance with, a figure so suS- pended inside the jrball; on a. .pin or rod attached toeither side of the'ball that the figure iscaused to. .r'evol've on said'n n or ,rodby he motion of the ball, when the ball is rolled, but comesito resteach time ,ina predetermined position, when the rolling motion of the ball stops. A further object of theeinvention-ismoprovide a toy ball made of a transparent substance and the figure of a-clown, with hands upraised; suspended in the ball in such manner on a pinorrodattached to either side .ofthe. ball that the figure revolves on the .pin or rod asthe hall rolls and comes to, ,rest. in an up-right positionwhentha ball stopsrolling, so that the clownapmars be doin handsprings. 7

The-invention is illustrated, ,in,a .preferred1em bodiment, by t e a anyin d awin in which- Figure 1 shows the ball and front view of the figure of the clown inside the ball, Fig. 2 shows the ball and a side view of the clown figure, and Fig. 3 an enlarged broken sectional view of the ball illustrating the manner in which the pin or rod suspending the figure of the clown is attached to the ball.

The ball is made in two halves, I being the upper half and 2 being the lower half. A good material to be used in making the ball is cellulose acetate, but any other transparent material, preferably one that is non-breakable, can be used. Glass may also be used but, because of its frangible nature, is not preferred.

Holes 3 are drilled into the inner wall of the bottom half of the ball, one on either side, as close to the top of such half as possible, having a diameter sufliciently large to permit the insertion of the pin or rod on which the figure 4 is suspended and at the same time small enough to engage such pin or rod firmly so that it cannot turn. An adhesive substance, such as glue or cement, may also be used, if necessary or desirable, to prevent the pin or rod from turning in its hole sockets. 4 is a figure of a clown, but any other figure or object may be used and the same result that is here shown will be obtained, if the principle herein explained is adhered to.

.2 Any "light weight, preferably opaque, material may be.used to make theqfigure. .A goodmaterial is plastic. The figure must be small enough to fit into the two halves of the ball when they are brought together.

The pin or rod 5 maybe made of metal, such as. steel or aluminum, or it may be made ofa plastic -.material. A hole '6 is drilled into each side of, the body of'the clown figure at about the midway. point. .One ,end of the pin or .rod

- 5 is inserted into one of the holes -6in the figure and extended through the figure and'xout the hole on the other .side of the figure, so that the pin or rod runs completely through the figure fromside to side. :One end of the ,pin or'rod'is theninserted. into ithe'hole- 3 in the inner wall of. the lower "half; of the ball" on one side and the other endf'is inserted into the .holetflon the other. side...

i The, two halves of the'ball';,,l .and'ipare now brought together so as tofiorm ,a Whole ball, and are fixed firmly 'in,that position, by cementing, gluing, .or any. other. ,appropriate means. The figure; of. the, clown .is. thus suspended inside the 25 ball, the pin or rod being crimpediatjl oneither sideoi. the figure or, other appropriate means being provided. to. prevent the. figure. fromsliding from side to side on the pin or rod and to'hold it in the middle of the ball.

The feet of the clown figure, 8 and 9, are weighted so that the bottom half of the figure is slightly heavier than the top half. By reason of the weight in the feet, the figure always comes back to an upright position after revolving on the pin or rod that suspends it. The foot 9 is upraised and off center, and, being weighted, it exerts pressure on the pin or rod 5 so that, when the pin or rod turns with the roll of the ball, the resultant friction between the body of the figure and the pin or rod causes the figure to revolve on the pin or rod as an axis. It is necessary that the weight in the feet be sufficient to bring the figure back to an upright position but not so great as to overcome the force of the friction between the body of the figure and the turning pin or rod. The holes 6 in the body of the figure through which the pin or rod is extended should be large enough so that the figure will revolve on the pin or rod 5.

It will be understood that the weight of the laterally-extending legs or other portions of the figure may be varied to produce different effects. The lateral weight, which tends to cause a binding between the figure and the rod, may be relatively small so that when the ball is rolled on an axis concentric with said pin or rod, the figure will not turn somersaults or rotate with the rod. However, when, the ball is rotated on an axis different from the axis of the rod, such offset weight will be sufilcient to cause the figure to somersault or rotate with the ball. Thus, the figure can be caused to somersault or rotate with the ball or to remain in a true vertical position during the rolling of the ball, depending upon the point of the sphere along which the ball is rolled.

The crimps l on the rod also enter into the operation of the device in that they engage the. figure on one side when the rod extends in a.

the end of its travel and swing laterally under the effect of the weight movements ofvthe figure. -.I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction 'shown and described, for obvious modifications ;wi11 occur We person skilled in the art.

I I claim:

L 1. A toy device comprising a ball formed of transparent material, a pin extending across said balland fixed to the walls thereof, and a figure having a transverse passage therethrough receiving said pin to permit rotation of the figure upon the pin, thelower portion of the figure being heavier than the upper portion to cause said figme to assume the desired vertical position within said ball, said figure having member extending laterally in the general plane of the pin to bverbalance the weight on the other side of the figure and to create a binding action between the figure and the pin along the passage in the figure through which the pin extends.

j 2.,A toy device comprising a ballvformed of transparent material, a pin having its ends fixed a member on one side thereof extending laterally in the plane of the pin and at a greater distance than other members of the figure to create a preponderance of weight on one side of the figure in the plane of said pin whereby a binding action occurs between the figure and the pinalong said passage.

3. A toy device comprising a ball formed of transparent material, a pin fixed to the interior walls of the ball and extending diametrically through the central portion of the ball, a toy figure simulating a human being having a transverse passage therethrough rotatably receiving said pin,..said figure being heavier in the lower side to maintain said figure in a vertical position upon said pin said pin being equipped with enlargements on either side of the figure for maintaining the same centrally located upon said pin, and said figure having a limb on one side thereof extending laterally in the vertical plane of the pin to 'a greater distance than the opposite limb and to create a. preponderance of weight on that side of the figure whereby the figure binds against the pin along the line of said passage and to cause the figure to rotate at least partially with the pin as the pin rotates in the rolling of the ball.

BERNICE HULBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

